


The Boy Who Could Be King

by i_am_still_bb



Series: Gathering Fiki - 12 Days of Christmas (2019) [4]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Arthurian, Alternate Universe - Historical, Gen, Kid Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:02:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21924871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_am_still_bb/pseuds/i_am_still_bb
Summary: Written forGathering Fiki's, 12 Days of Christmas--Kili has something to show Fili that the great "wizard" Gandalf did.
Relationships: Fíli & Kíli (Tolkien)
Series: Gathering Fiki - 12 Days of Christmas (2019) [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1570915
Comments: 3
Kudos: 21
Collections: GatheringFiKi - 12 Days OF Christmas 2019





	The Boy Who Could Be King

**Author's Note:**

> This is very much a Fili & Kili story. I tried to make the plot bunnies provide other options, but they just kept giving me more Fili & Kili.

“Fili.”

Cold, slightly sticky fingers find Fili’s beneath his blanket.

Fili yanks his hand away and rolls over. His back now faces his little brother.

“Fili,” Kili whines while climbing onto the bed they share. “Come on.” He pulls back the blankets to reveal his brother’s golden hair and grumpy face.

“Go’way, Kee,” Fili grumbles pulling the blanket back over his head.

“But Fee,” Kili worms his feet beneath the covers. “There’s something you gotta see!”

Fili huffs as he rolls over. “What is it?”

Kili shakes his head. “You have to see it.”

“Fine,” Fili grumbles and shoves the blankets off. 

Kili’s face breaks into a wide grin as he bounces off the bed. He grabs his little toy bow and arrow set and practically vibrates while Fili fastens his shoes.

“Okay.” Fili straightens and tugs at his tunic which had grown too short over the past weeks.

Kili is out the door before Fili even finishes speaking. Before following his little brother he grabs some hard, cinnamon biscuits, toasted hazelnuts, and left over Christmas pudding. Kili’s adventures often last hours if not all day.

Fili rubs at his unruly, bed-damp hair. He feels bad for ignoring Kili lately, but sometimes he was such a little kid and it made Fili so mad, but he didn’t want to lash out at his little brother. He wants to protect him, but he just wishes Kili would hurry up and grow up faster.

The forest that looms darkly a few feet from their village is Kili’s favorite place and that is where he takes Fili now.

“If you’re showing me more deer poop I’m going home.”

Kili shoots a look over his shoulder. “You’ll like it. I promise.”

“I doubt that,” Fili grumbles under his breath, but he hurries to catch up with his brother.

When they crest a ridge that overlooks a wide valley Fili wants to apologize, but he doesn’t.

The valley is filled with rows of white tents. They are broken apart into obvious groupings and they all fly different banners—the white dragon of the Gondorians, the red dragon of the Oakenshields, the rampant stag of the Silvans, the white horse of the Rohirrim, and many others that Fili cannot place. But they all form a semi-circle around a large rock that seems to be the center of attention.

“This!” Kili points with a broad smile on his face.

“What is it?”

Kili shrugs and plops himself on the ridge and settles in like he does not plan on leaving for several hours.

Fili sits down next to him. “What do you think it could be?”

Kili’s eyes light up, “Maybe something to do with Gandalf!”

Fili rolls his eyes. His little brother’s obsession with the “ wizard” is one of those things that Fili wishes he would outgrow and quickly.

“I heard some of the adults talking about him this morning when I was fetching water.”

Fili decides he should humor his brother, even if he only plans on using it to tease him later, “And what were they saying?”

“They were talking about the war. And that time that Gandalf told King Thorin about the dragons that were fighting in the hill where he was trying to build his castle. With the red and white dragons?”

Fili nods. “Yes. Dragons,” he scoffs.

“Fee,” Kili whines. “Why would Gandalf lie?”

Fili can think of a lot of reasons, but he keeps his mouth shut. 

“They were talking about how Gandalf made King Thorin and King Thranduil quit fighting, but they said that King Thranduil had broken the treat.”

“Treaty,” Fili corrects. “It was a treaty.”

“Oh,” Kili looks at his brother, but then turns back to the goings on in the valley. His knees are drawn to his chest with arms wrapped around them with his chin resting on a knee. “They said something about a sword that will tell them who gets to be king of everything.”

“Is that what this is?”

Kili shrugs. “I think so. But I don’t understand. How is a sword going to decide who gets to be king?”

“Maybe they have to fight?”

“But no one’s fighting,” Kili pouts.

They watch in silence for a while.

Fili points. “It looks like they’re trying to pull something out of that rock.”

“Maybe the strongest one gets to be king!”

Fili nods sagely, “Yeah. They need to be strong to be a good king.”

They watch for longer and Fili pulls out the snacks that he brought and they quietly munch together while watching and talking about what they think is happening and placing imaginary bets on which knight will be successful.

As the sun sets the men disperse to their separate camps to do whatever it is that soldiers do.

Kili stands up and brushes off his pants. “Come on, Fee.” He starts down the kill.

“Where are you going?” Fili hisses, but he follows his brother anyway.

When he sees that Kili’s destination is the rock he scrambles to catch up. “What are you doing?” He grabs Kili’s tunic.

“Don’t you want to see it?” Kili asks; his eyes wide.

Fili shuffles his feet, “Well, yeah, but we’re going to get in trouble.”

Kili shakes his head, “No we won’t. Come on.”

Fili shakes his head, but follows his brother. Even if he cannot prevent Kili from doing whatever he is about to do he can try to keep him out of trouble.

No one is near the stone as they approach.

Kili’s smile is wild and full of laughter as he tugs at his brother. “Can’t you just see it!” He asks excitedly. “How it would have looked when Gandalf was putting the sword there?”

Fili wants to tell his brother that they need to leave, but Kili’s enthusiasm is contagious. And when Kili starts waving his arms and reciting “incantations” Fili joins in. He jumps up on the rock and lays his hand on the sword.

“Hey! What are you kids doing here? Get out of here!” A soldier’s voice booms from far too close.

Fili startles losing his grip on the sword. He grabs Kili’s hand dragging him away from the camp and back into the forest, to their home, and their waiting mother.

Neither of them see the sword slowly sinking back into the stone as cold starlight glints on the blue steel. But the wizard--with a grey hat, a silver scarf, a long beard, and bushy eyebrows--that stands in the shadows cast by the flickering fires sees all.


End file.
